CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said the hope before Sunday's game was that they wouldn't have to lean heavily on quarterback Baker Mayfield in his return from a three-game absence because of a dislocated right thumb.
But Bowles didn't anticipate Mayfield would have only 11 passing attempts in a 43-13 victory over the Carolina Panthers to improve to 2-5.
Instead, it was a trio of running backs -- Bucky Irving, Kenny Gainwell and Sean Tucker -- who combined for 258 rushing yards and three touchdown runs, with Irving accounting for two. It kept the Panthers from blitzing Mayfield and ate up time of possession to keep the Panthers' explosive offense off the field.
"It was great. He made the plays when we needed him to," Bowles said of Mayfield. "We didn't need to make much. When the offensive line gets 49 runs in and you can run the ball like that -- especially a quarterback coming back off injury -- it made the day easy for him."
Wearing a specially made baseball glove with a piece of mental reinforcement to keep his thumb from bending in the wrong direction, Mayfield made plays when necessary, including a 14-yard pass off his back foot to wide receiver Tez Johnson for his 200th passing touchdown.
"Just played free and fearless," Johnson said of Mayfield. "It was his first game back. You always want to do your best."
When asked if his hand was sore, Mayfield joked, "I don't know with these handoffs; my thumb might be pretty sore. ... It was good form, though."
The Bucs also leaned on a defense that sacked Bryce Young five times and picked off two of his passes, along with a scoop-and-score from defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, who somersaulted into the end zone. Special teams also got in on the fun. Ko Kieft recovered a muffed punt, and Zyon McCollum recovered a blocked extra point attempt, which was deflected by Tykee Smith, and returned it for two more points.
"I think it's a statement internally for us -- not to anybody else -- but for us," Mayfield said. "This is what it's supposed to look like. It's not always going to look like that. It's the NFL. But operation-wise and when it comes to complementary football, this is what the potential this team can have. And so, it's a statement within ourselves."
The Bucs had a dominant three-quarter performance against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers last week but lost 26-19 in overtime. Rodgers had gone on a tear in the fourth quarter, and Bucs backup rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels threw two interceptions. Tampa Bay's goal entering Sunday's game, its first in the division, was to get Mayfield back in the fold and put four quarters together.
"It was a victory. Didn't matter how it looked, but it's nice to see the attitude, intentionality, the mental side of it," Mayfield said. "What I said, 'You don't change the process just because of the results.' One thing we've been working on is how to play together, how to come together. So to see it come together and have a win like this, the guys need to continue to build on that. We know what the recipe is for us when it comes to work throughout the week and when it comes to the energy and mindset on game day."
The offensive line played a huge role, with 171 rushing yards coming before contact, according to ESPN's tracking, the most in a game for any team this season.
"It was one of those games you'll never forget," center Graham Barton said. "We didn't have to throw the ball. Ya know, we kinda just kept pounding the rock, pounding the rock. That's who we want to be. Don't get me wrong -- is it gonna be like that every week? Probably not. But that's our goal. That should be our goal. Set the tone with the run, be able to stick with it, keep pounding it, efficient plays, explosives, and control the clock like that.
"Defense played their ass off. Couldn't be more proud of them. The defense doing that just sets us up being able to run the clock and be able to run the ball like that. Super proud of them. Super proud of the way the boys executed this week coming off a tough loss, and now we have to turn it into another win."
It was a bonus that the Bucs beat the team that denied them a sixth consecutive trip to the playoffs and a fifth consecutive division title last season. And they finally broke free of playing in 12 consecutive one-score games going back to last season, the longest active streak in the NFL and tied for the second longest in NFL history, trailing only the 1989-1990 Chargers (14). The Bucs were 3-9 in those games.
They were also the second team in NFL history to start a season with six straight one-score games and lose five of them, joining the 2015 Baltimore Ravens, who extended this to seven straight games and six losses the following week.
The Bucs are still in contention in the NFC South, which has only one team at or above .500 -- the one they beat Sunday. Tampa Bay plays the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday.